


In My Cold Arms

by Imagined



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, Avenger Loki (Marvel), Developing Relationship, First Kiss, Good Loki (Marvel), Happy Ending, Heat Stroke, Hurt/Comfort, Jotunn Loki (Marvel), M/M, Mutual Pining, Oblivious Tony Stark, Pining Loki (Marvel), Pining Tony Stark, Sappy, Sharing Body Heat, Timeline What Timeline, only then the reverse of that
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-09
Updated: 2018-02-09
Packaged: 2019-03-15 23:08:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,646
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13623420
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Imagined/pseuds/Imagined
Summary: Tony knows that sometimes people need to cuddle to preserve body heat. He'd never expected to find himself snuggling with a Frost Giant to prevent his body from overheating.





	In My Cold Arms

**Author's Note:**

> I was thinking about the sharing body heat trope, and found myself doing the opposite. Title of the fic inspired by Mumford & Sons' song Cold Arms, because I am incapable of making up titles. enjoy!

They’re trapped. For real, this time – the door is shut, and they don’t have the force to get it open. There aren’t any windows, and the walls are too thick and made of steel. Even if Tony’s suit was operational at the moment – and thanks to the decidedly effective variant of an EMP that he got shot with, it isn’t – there wouldn’t be a way to get out of the room.

‘’I thought you said your suit could withstand devices such as these,’’ Loki drawls beside him, seemingly unimpressed. 

Tony inspects his suit one last time, but gets up as it becomes apparent that the power won’t restart. The arc reactor is strong enough to be undamaged, but that won’t be much of a help if the rest of the suit is not working. The reactor can’t function on its own.

‘’They must’ve made some alterations,’’ Tony says. Being stuck with Loki isn’t the worse thing, but he does hope the rest of the team will be able to take down the bad guy with them unavailable. They’re efficient, sure, but Iron Man is a very helpful team member, and Loki’s magic has proven itself unbelievably valuable during missions.

Okay, there are some downsides to being stuck with Loki. The most important one is that Tony has been crushing on his teammate since forever and Loki being Loki, it’s probably not going to be very long until he finds it out.

Another one is that Tony tends to say the wrong thing around Loki. He will never forget the time he called Loki ‘princess’ and found himself pinned to the wall. It’s just – they seem to argue more often than not. Tony doesn’t mean any of it, and it’s fun for a while, but then Loki seems to take it personal. 

‘’I am afraid it is time we admit defeat and wait for a rescue party,’’ Loki says. ‘’It will be impossible to get through these walls. Perhaps the Hulk could, if he deemed it necessary.’’

‘’Hulk doesn’t need an excuse to smash,’’ Tony quips. 

‘’I am well aware.’’ Loki’s tone is a bit dry, and Tony is never sure if he means it or not. He thinks Loki is just joking with him, but Tony finds it kind of hard to figure him out sometimes.

They’re sitting beside each other for some time, just waiting it out. It’s not the first time someone in the team got stuck somewhere, and there’s not much reason for panic. The villain they’re fighting is minor, and their being stuck here merely an inconvenience.

But then Tony starts sweating. ‘’Do you think it’s hot in here?’’ he asks Loki, who has a pensive look on his face.

‘’I think they’re turning up the heat,’’ Loki says, swiftly standing up. ‘’Perhaps they mean to weaken us without facing us directly.’’

Tony isn’t bothered by the heat. He thinks about the cave in Afghanistan for a second, but it was mainly the cold, there, that got to him. The cold would maybe trigger him, but the heat – that will only be a discomfort, at most.

Until it gets hotter, and hotter. ‘’That’s it,’’ Tony decides, after wiping the sweat from his brow once again. ‘’I’m going to strip.’’

‘’I’m sure it’s a sight to behold,’’ Loki says.

‘’Darling, if you wanted me naked, all you had to do was ask.’’

‘’Well, this is more fun.’’

Tony shoots Loki a glance. The god seems unperturbed by the heat. Maybe he can handle more of it, Tony wouldn’t know, but it’s obvious that Loki isn’t as affected as Tony is.

First he takes off his shirt. He can feel Loki eyeing his back as he throws the garb on the floor. He was in the lab when the alarm went off, so he’s still wearing his oil-stained pants, which he also takes off, until he’s only wearing his socks and his underwear. After a split second, he also decided to get rid of the socks.

It works for a while. But the heat gets oppressing, and Tony has to close his eyes so the world will stop swinging. He’s sweating profusely, and his dizziness makes his nausea only worse.

‘’Stark.’’ Someone is holding him by the shoulders. Sitting up is a task too hard for Tony, right now. ‘’Stark, are you with me? Stark!’’

Oh yeah, it’s Loki. Tony manages to open his eyes. There is more than one Loki in front of him. There’s some sweat on his brow, but he seems to be holding up against the heat far more effectually than Tony is.

His head is aching, and thinking seems to be impossible. ‘’Loki,’’ he manages to say, holding onto the god’s arm. It’s impossible to hold himself up.

‘’Did you hear what I was saying? Stark?’’ Loki sounds worried. Tony wonders what’s going on, because he doesn’t hear Loki like that very often. Loki seems above these human emotions, always composed and ready for everything the world will throw at him. Tony admires that, as someone who always has to appear composed too. He’s a Stark, and that brings expectations with it. 

‘’You’re not well,’’ Loki states. ‘’You are overheating, Tony. Do you understand me?’’

Loki is really very attractive. He’s also very strong, Tony thinks as he pinches Loki’s arms. Since when is he lying in Loki’s arms? 

‘’I’m going to take that as a no,’’ Loki states. ‘’You’re truly out of it, aren’t you?’’

Very, very nice biceps. Tony didn’t know that there were two of Loki. Double the fun. Maybe also double the arguing, though, and Tony doesn’t want to fight with Loki. He wants to kiss him. Maybe double the kisses?

But two times none is still zero.

‘’Well, there is nothing wrong with your calculations, at least,’’ Loki says, and he moves to lay Tony down on the floor. Tony makes a noise. He doesn’t want Loki to leave.

‘’I’m not leaving,’’ Loki tells him. A few moments later, he is unclothed with the exception of his briefs, his skin blue, and his eyes are red. Not a sliver of the green is left. Tony can only stare, until the god lies down next to him. He’s cool, and Tony clutches at him.

‘’Relax,’’ Loki murmurs. ‘’This will allow you to hold out a bit longer. Until we are rescued, alright? I know it’s not perfect, but you will die if I don’t.’’

Tony can’t help but cuddle into Loki’s arms. The cold of Loki’s body makes the heat a bit more bearable, and he stares at the markings on the god’s bare chest. He has never seen him like this, but he’s equally certain he’s never seen anything more beautiful.

Loki turns his face against Tony’s cheek, and Tony presses into Loki’s neck.

‘’I only hope we will last like this until they come,’’ he hears Loki whisper. Then Tony falls asleep in the cool of Loki’s embrace.

~*~

Tony wakes up with a giant headache. 

He makes the mistake of opening his eyes and is blinded by the light. ‘’Lights off,’’ he moans, trying to cover his head with his blanket. His muscles are aching, too, and not in a pleasant way.

‘’Not even you can find a way to turn off the sun, Tony,’’ he hears an amused voice beside him. Pepper is sitting there. Tony can’t find it in himself to be surprised.

‘’You know I could find a way, if I tried hard enough.’’ He tries sitting up, and Pepper helps him. 

‘’You had us scared there, for a moment,’’ Pepper tells him, and Tony searches his memories for what he’s done now. However, he comes up with nothing.

She seems to notice his confused look. ‘’You were overheating. The doctors say you wouldn’t have made it, if it wasn’t for Loki.’’

Tony doesn’t remember any of it, except – maybe a bit. He remembers Loki being stuck with him, but he doesn’t know what happened after that. He thinks he lay in Loki’s arms, but he’s hardly going to ask Pepper about that. In any case, it’s improbable that she even knows what exactly happened.

‘’What about Loki?’’ he asks.

Pepper shrugs. ‘’Still on bed rest, and bitching about it, I heard. There’s something about him being a Frost Giant, or something like that, and apparently it made him more vulnerable to the heat than being a regular god. I didn’t ask for details.’’

Loki, a Frost Giant. Okay, well, Tony knew Loki is adopted, and isn’t a regular Asgardian, but he hadn’t thought much more about it. ‘’Can I see him?’’ Tony asks.

Pepper hesitates for a moment. ‘’There’s something else you should know. The room was being recorded, apparently, and the Avengers saw the video of the two of you there. Tony, do you – are you in love with Loki?’’

‘’Um,’’ Tony says.

‘’It’s okay if you are,’’ Pepper adds, ‘’I mean, I’m rooting for you, Tony, really. But if I were you, I’d prepare yourself for everyone knowing about it.’’

‘’Including Loki?’’ Tony asks. Because _that_ won’t make it Tony’s crush more awkward than it already is.

Pepper smiles tightly. ‘’Including Loki.’’

Tony lets his head fall back on the pillow. He’s doomed.

~*~

It takes him a few days to get back to his usual strength, and in those days, he doesn’t see Loki even once.

The other Avengers tease him about liking the god, but aren’t worried, because Loki has been part of their team for long enough that there’s at least some trust between them and their old enemy-turned-ally. Even Thor doesn’t seem bothered by it, and when Tony asks him why, Thor says that Loki is more than capable of taking care of himself. 

Tony supposes that’s true.

He tries to find Loki, but every time he comes even close to the god, Loki disappears. Tony tries not to take it as a hint, and thinks that maybe he’s said or done something weird during their time stuck together, so he finally goes to see the video.

And – well, okay. He’s blatantly told Loki, in his stupid overheated state, that he basically thinks Loki is the best thing on Earth, or any other planet, as it may be. But besides that – it’s not like he has insulted him, or done something spectacularly stupid, except being his usual brand of Tony Stark.

It’s still stupidly hot to see Loki turn to his Frost Giant form, though, and Tony may secretly have taken a few screenshots. He and Loki are blatantly cuddling by the end of the video. He’s touched that Loki gave up his Asgardian physique, that protected him from the heat, to give Tony the cold he needed and thus putting himself at risk.

But seeing as Loki is avoiding him now, that was nothing more than a teammate helping him out of a life-threatening situation, like they do on a daily basis. He has to forget about Loki cuddling up to him, and accept that the god is giving him a clear hint that he doesn’t want Tony.

Tony can’t exactly blame him.

He stops trying to go and see Loki, and focuses on other things, instead. Like figuring out what kind of EMP those bad guys had used to override his suit. It’s obviously a more fruitful endeavour.

~*~

It’s Loki that comes to find him, in the end.

Tony is so surprised that he nearly drops the device he’s using to weld some parts of his suits together.

‘’Careful with that,’’ Loki advices him. ‘’I think we’ve both dealt with enough heat, for the foreseeable future.’’

‘’Tell me about it,’’ Tony answers easily, even if his heartbeat is much faster than usual. He removes his goggles, and walks away from the suit, to Loki. ‘’What, um. Can I help you with something?’’

Loki gives a fleeting smile, as if he’s nervous about something, and looks away for a second before focusing on Tony again. ‘’I had a question, actually.’’

‘’Shoot away,’’ Tony says, with a wave of his hand.

‘’Are you in love with me?’’

Tony blinks. ‘’Except for _that_ , holy shit,’’ he manages. ‘’Weren’t you the subtle one on this team? I thought, um, I thought the answer to that was pretty clear. Considering my apparent inability to keep my mouth shut when overheating.’’

Loki shrugs. ‘’I did not mean to take whatever you said in that state too seriously. You were pretty far gone, honestly.’’

‘’Yeah.’’ Tony coughs. ‘’I never got to thank you for saving me. But, as to your question, I, um, watched the video. Pretty much all I said can be taken seriously. So. There’s that.’’

Loki takes a step forward, near Tony, tilting his head. He’s looking at Tony as if trying to figure out a particularly hard problem. ‘’And do you still feel the same way?’’

‘’It’s been a week, Loki, seriously, give me some time,’’ Tony says. Loki is probably here to figure out how fast Tony can get over this. He’s crushing pretty hard on the god, actually, so it may take a bit longer than he wants to admit to himself.

‘’I don’t mean to,’’ Loki says, and then they’re crashing into each other. Loki is cupping Tony’s head with his right hand, pressing their lips together. Tony can do nothing but kiss back, even as his mind goes blank.

He doesn’t know how long they stand like this, but when they break apart, he finds his own hands on Loki’s waist, pressing him closer, and Loki’s other hand on the small of Tony’s back, under his shirt.

‘’What?’’ Tony says.

Loki huffs out a laugh. ‘’You do want this, am I right?’’

‘’I do, but _you_ don’t,’’ Tony points out, taking a step back, getting away from Loki. ‘’You’ve been avoiding me ever since being stuck together, when you saved my life at the risk of your own, and then you come and do _that_? You can see how I have a little trouble figuring this out, can’t you?’’

‘’Tony,’’ Loki says, and taking a step forward so they’re just as close again. ‘’This is not a trick. I am being honest with you, believe me. It’s just – not many people have seen me as a Frost Giant, before. They’re monsters. I knew I had to do it, when you were overheating, you wouldn’t have made it much longer. But when you saw me – you were afraid. Your eyes were so wide, and you didn’t say anything. I was afraid that you’d be disgusted, after seeing me like that. But hearing you still feel the same – I do want this. You have to believe me.’’

‘’I wasn’t afraid,’’ Tony says, dumbfounded. ‘’Shit, Loki, I was awed. The only thing I could think about is how beautiful you are, like that. I mean, you are now, too, but that – that was _breath-taking_. Don’t you see? I wasn’t afraid.’’

‘’I’m a monster,’’ Loki says. ‘’There’s nothing beautiful about that.’’

‘’Can you…’’ Tony hesitates for a second. ‘’Can you turn, now? For me?’’

Loki gives him an indecipherable look, but his face starts turning blue, and his eyes red. The marking are all over his body, and Tony lays his hand on Loki’s face, tenderly. For a moment, neither of them move, and then Tony lets out a deep breath and smiles.

‘’It’s beautiful,’’ he says simply. ‘’You’re not a monster, Loki. I don’t know why you think so. You saved me, and you did it knowing it would harm you.’’

Then he kisses the blue lips, and shivers at the cold. When Loki wants to pull away, Tony holds him in place a bit longer before letting him go.

‘’You truly think so?’’ Loki asks, and his skin turns back to its usual colour.

‘’I know so,’’ Tony says, and kisses him again.


End file.
